From February 23-28, 2022, DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), with a blessing of Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, is taking a trip to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Djibouti. These states of East Africa are among the key countries for organizing systemic work in the African continent, which is especially important for the formation of the Patriarchal Exarchate for Africa, development of contacts with traditional Churches in the continent and implementation of projects developed by the Interreligious Working Group for Defending the Rights of Believers against Discrimination and Xenophobia under the Russian Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations.
The program of the trip includes negotiations with representatives of the leadership of the both countries, with the supreme authorities of the Ethiopian Church and leaders of other religious communities.
On February 23-24, the following meetings took place in Addis-Ababa in the work program of the trip.
During his negotiations with the state minister of Ethiopia for religious affairs Mr. Taye Dendea, Hieromonk Stephen discussed plans for establishing relations in the sphere of religious dialogue and peace-making topics. Minister Dendea informed him about the current situation in Ethiopia, where a civil conflict in the north of the country has been continuing since 2020. He said that he always felt the fraternal support given by Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church and that he was looking with hope to the Russian state, whose role and the personal role of President Vladimir Putin in forming the policy towards Africa he assessed as very constructive. In Minister Dandea’s assessment, the peoples of Africa suffering from various forms of discrimination hear the voice of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia speaking in their defence and see him as their hope. They consider His Holiness to be one of those key religious leaders who are keenly aware of their responsibility both for the destiny of the world and the future of the Christian civilization and make consistent efforts for the assertion of the rights of believers.
At his meeting with the Ethiopian minister of health Ms Lia Tadesse, Hieromonk Stephen discussed the current humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and possible joint projects for helping those affected by crisis in the country. They had an important exchange of practical information needed for planning this work.
In the course of Hieromonk Stephan’s negotiations with General Secretary of the Interreligious Council of Ethiopia L. G. Tagay Tadele, they discussed the cooperation in exchanging the experience of interaction between various religions, which has been accumulated in the both countries. In this sense, Russia and Ethiopia represent an example of ages-old peaceful coexistence of people of different religion,. and their joint witness to peace in this experience is very important. Thus, it is well known that in recent years, the faithful of Christian and Muslim communities in Russia have actively worked together in carrying out complex humanitarian tasks. In this connection, Father Stephen informed his interlocutor about the work of the Interreligious Working Group for defending the rights of believers from discrimination and xenophobia, of which he is head. This group is attached to the Russian Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations. In recent years, the group has implemented a number of large-scale projects for aid to the people of Syria. The sides noted that today this experience is in great demand in Africa, which has become a region wh ere a large-scale genocide is committed on religious grounds against whole groups of the population.
Hieromonk Stephen met with Grand Mufti and President of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council Hadjji Omar Idris, the head of the Muslim community in the country, which comprises about a half of its population. The Grand Mufti asked him to convey greetings and best wishes to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as to the Islamic leaders and all Muslims in Russia. He stressed that the Muslim community is traditional for Ethiopia and it lives in harmony with local Christians. They encounter the same challenges and problems as those faced by the Ethiopian society. The Grand Mufti of Ethiopia is also aware of the high level of dialogue in Russia. The sides recognized the usefulness of the further development of contacts between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Supreme Islamic Affairs Council of Ethiopia with the participation of the Ethiopian Church. They also discussed some specific aspects of the future cooperation.
DECR Communication Service/Patriarchia.ru